Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

Shen Jizhi had once again turned into a little mute and deaf.

His three specialties: not speaking, not answering, and pretending not to hear.

Jian Huan hurriedly put on her clothes, threw off the blanket, and shouted at him, "Hey! Shen Jizhi—"

As the echo faded, she pursed her lips, swallowing the words "Why are you ignoring me?"

The young man was no longer by the bedside, and the room was empty, leaving her alone.

There was no wind inside the Fish King, yet the gauze curtains by the window fluttered wildly. Outside, the tall, bamboo-like figure of the black-clad youth flashed into the neighboring empty room and soon disappeared.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

On the bed, Jian Huan sat amidst the piled-up blankets.

Her hair was disheveled, her eyes glistening with moisture, and her cheeks flushed—perhaps from the warmth of the bedding, the glow of the candlelight, or perhaps, for some other reason.

She patted her rosy cheeks, hopped off the bed, and shuffled back to her room in her slippers.

Moments after she left, Shen Jizhi returned.

He stared at the messy bedding, took a deep, deep breath. The faint scent of her lingered in the air.

He couldn’t sleep all night.

The sword wound on his back was healing silently, but it felt itchy, as if seeds were buried beneath, ready to sprout.

Moreover, the warmth and discomfort seemed to linger where his fingertips had touched.

Inside the Fish King’s belly, there was no day or night, only perpetual darkness.

But roughly estimating, they had been here for about two hours. Outside, it was probably dawn.

Someone knocked on the door. "It’s me."

Jian Huan, unable to sleep, had gotten up to draw talismans. Hearing the knock, she cleared her throat softly and said, "Come in."

Shen Jizhi entered as instructed, cutting straight to the point. "Fei Xu’s Xuantian Mirror has some activity."

"Really?" Jian Huan finished the last stroke of her talisman, quickly set down the brush, and took the Xuantian Mirror to look.

[Fish Collector: How’s it going? Have all the fish on the ship been caught?]

Jian Huan looked up at him, and Shen Jizhi glanced down. Their eyes met briefly, both with a knowing look.

Earlier, when they had encountered the Fish King’s belly, they had analyzed the situation.

The Fish King had merely swallowed them to transport them to a destination. The Fish King could easily kill them, but the mastermind behind this clearly saw the people on the ship as assets and didn’t want to harm them. That’s why the Fish King couldn’t control its strength, which was why Fei Xu and Xu Yang had been sent to infiltrate the ship.

On one hand, they wanted to see who the Xie family had recruited to catch the demon, so they could be prepared. On the other hand, they wanted to bind the people and render them immobile before reaching their base.

Indeed, she and Shen Jizhi had guessed correctly.

"Fish Collector? Tsk, they’re quite creative with their Xuantian Mirror names, making it sound like a spy movie," Jian Huan muttered softly, pondering how to reply.

Shen Jizhi walked over, confused. "Spy movie?"

Jian Huan wrote on the smooth surface of the mirror, casually making up an explanation. "Oh, there’s a play called *Spy Movie*. Should I reply?" She held the Xuantian Mirror up for him to see.

Shen Jizhi leaned over, glanced at it, and said, "Go ahead."

Jian Huan sent the message.

[Fisherman: There was a bit of an accident, but they’ve all been caught.]

[Fish Collector: What kind of accident?]

[Fisherman: The fisherman who was with me is gone.]

[Fish Collector: Understood. My condolences. You won’t be shortchanged. Get ready. The fishing boat will dock in one hour, and we’ll come to collect the fish.]

[Fisherman: Alright.]

The conversation ended there. Jian Huan put down the Xuantian Mirror, tilted her head, and looked up.

Shen Jizhi’s face was right in front of her.

Jian Huan thought it made sense that she had nightmares of him sucking her blood.

His complexion was as pale as a vampire’s. His features were sharp, and his brown eyes gazed at her quietly.

She could see herself reflected in them.

Jian Huan’s dark pupils scanned his face, glanced down, then looked up again.

She noticed, unintentionally, that his black outfit was different from the one he wore last night.

Though both were black, the embroidery patterns were slightly different.

In the pitch-black belly of the Fish King, how did he even have the mood to change clothes?

Jian Huan was speechless for a moment. She reached out, pressed against his firm shoulder, and pushed him away. "Why are you standing so close to me?"

"I was looking at the Xuantian Mirror," Shen Jizhi stumbled slightly but steadied himself. "What did you think I was doing?"

"I don’t care what you were doing," Jian Huan stood up, and the two of them left the room one after the other to find Xie Yuanying. "But be mindful. Don’t you know about the boundaries between men and women?"

Shen Jizhi abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He stared at the pink-clad girl in front of him, momentarily unsure if he had heard correctly.

The corners of his lips twitched upward, but by the time Jian Huan turned back with a puzzled look, his expression was back to its usual impassive state.

Shen Jizhi followed her silently. "How rare. You actually know about the boundaries between men and women."

Jian Huan detected the sarcasm in his tone and frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Shen Jizhi didn’t elaborate. "Nothing."

After a pause, he suddenly added, "That’s good."

Jian Huan: "?"

Xie Yuanying’s room was at the other end of the ship’s corridor.

Inside the room, the three of them sat at the table, discussing the matter at hand.

Jian Huan briefly explained the situation to Xie Yuanying and said, "Brother Xie, we can’t take the goods on your ship, only the people. But if we’re lucky, your family’s goods can still be recovered later."

Her and Shen Jizhi’s Mustard Seed Pouches weren’t large enough. After squeezing in all 103 people from the ship, there was barely any space left.

Xie Yuanying dipped his finger in water and wrote on the table: Yuanying understands the gravity of the situation. You two can rest assured.

Jian Huan nodded. "That’s good."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of bustling footsteps came from outside. A large group of people was gathering.

Xie Yuanying’s new servant opened the door, slipped in, and bowed to the three inside. "Everyone on the ship is here, lined up outside."

Jian Huan nodded. "Bring the first one in."

The servant then left.

She turned to Shen Jizhi.

Shen Jizhi took out a black clay jar and removed the lid.

Jian Huan, curious, leaned over and peeked inside.

The jar was filled with hundreds of wriggling, thin black worms, their bodies intertwined, making a rustling sound.

Jian Huan gagged and quickly looked away. "These worms look disgusting."

Shen Jizhi gazed at his worms with affection. "But they cost ten spirit stones each."

Jian Huan was surprised. "That expensive? Why did you buy so many?"

Shen Jizhi replied succinctly, "Bulk purchase is cheaper. Buying individually costs thirty each."

Jian Huan: "…" Anyone would think he was running a wholesale business.

This would use up 103 worms, but thankfully, Xie Yuanying would cover the cost at thirty spirit stones each.

Outside the room, the 103 people stood in a long line, glancing at each other and whispering.

"Are we really going to let those worms crawl into us…?"

"If the worms crawl in, can we really wake up after we get out?"

"But there’s no other way. We’re all in the Fish King’s belly! If we don’t listen to the two immortals inside, we’re as good as dead!"

"That’s right. Let’s leave it to fate. The young master is with us, so it should be fine."

"…"

One by one, the people outside entered the room.

Each time someone came in, Shen Jizhi would send a worm flying toward them. Before they could react, the worm would attach to their face, quickly burrow in, and the person would collapse, unconscious.

Jian Huan would then pick them up and neatly stack them into the Mustard Seed Pouch.

Everything went smoothly until the last person stumbled in, reeking of alcohol.

It was the fake Taoist priest, Liu Hu.

Shen Jizhi flung a worm at Liu Hu’s face, but—the worm didn’t burrow in.

The black worm visibly shuddered, quickly bounced off, and frantically fled in another direction.

Jian Huan, who was about to retrieve the body, widened her eyes. "!!"

"What the hell?" she exclaimed. "What’s going on?"

Liu Hu himself was also confused. He let out a drunken burp and asked, "Huh? Why did the worm fly away?"

Shen Jizhi frowned. While swiftly recalling the worm back into the black clay jar, his gaze fell on Liu Hu. His snow-white sword unsheathed, and in a flash, he positioned himself between Jian Huan and Liu Hu, pointing the sword at the latter. His voice was icy. "Who exactly are you?"

Jian Huan stood behind Shen Jizhi, looking from him to the fake Taoist priest. She poked his back, about to ask, but Shen Jizhi quickly explained in a low voice.

The worms only worked on people at the Foundation Establishment level or below. For cultivators at the Golden Core stage or higher, this would happen.

This Taoist is at least at the Golden Core stage of cultivation!

Liu Hu stared at the sword pressed against his neck and instinctively stepped back, trembling with fear, his beard quivering: "I told you, I’m a Maoshan Taoist! Young man, young lady, I’ve already given you everything I found on the meat mound, and you promised to lead me out! What’s going on now? You can’t break your word like this—it’s inviting divine retribution!"

Jian Huan held her waist with one hand, lightly biting her right thumb as she observed the Taoist’s expression.

Suddenly, a silver sword appeared in her hand, and she slashed toward Liu Hu.

Liu Hu’s words broke off as fear overwhelmed him. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, covering his head, squeezing his eyes shut, and cowering in the corner, utterly defenseless.

He screamed, "Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I was wrong, I was wrong! I’m not a Maoshan Taoist! I’m not!!"

Hearing this, Jian Huan’s sword veered slightly, the blade’s wind slicing off a few strands of Liu Hu’s hair: "You won’t confess until you’re faced with death. Speak up, quickly!"

Liu Hu shrank back, pursed his lips, and instinctively reached for the wine flask in his robe.

Jian Huan struck the back of his hand fiercely with her sword, gritting her teeth: "You still want to drink at a time like this? Hurry up and talk, we’re running out of time!"

She could clearly sense that the Fish King’s speed was slowing, like a ship preparing to dock.

The living-dead insects were harmful to the human body, so she and Shen Jizhi had timed their use carefully to avoid plunging everyone into a living-dead state too early.

Liu Hu wailed a few times, huddling pitifully: "I... I’m actually from Ningzhang City. I was drinking at a tavern when I met a fake Taoist who claimed to be from Maoshan. Pah! I’ve fooled plenty of people in my time—did he really think he could deceive me? Later, I got him drunk, and he said he was here to help the Xie family exorcise a demon for five thousand spirit stones. One spirit stone is worth ten taels of silver! That’s fifty thousand taels!!! So I..."

He paused.

Shen Jizhi’s face was icy: "Continue!"

These two kids were so fierce. Liu Hu pouted: "So I knocked him out, took his Taoist robe and stuff, and sent him off on a ship heading far away. After that, you know the rest."

Shen Jizhi’s snow sword twitched slightly.

He looked at the man with the half-white beard before him, and a sudden suspicion arose in his heart.

Jian Huan also walked over, tugging at his sleeve and pulling him down.

Shen Jizhi bent down, following her lead.

Jian Huan leaned close to his ear, her voice tinged with excitement as she whispered: "Shen Jizhi! Remember what I told you before? Scamming, drinking, and being from Ningzhang City! This fake Taoist fits all three, and the living-dead insects won’t go near him! Could he be... your deceitful master?"

Sealing his cultivation and memories, living an ordinary life in Ningzhang City, experiencing the world’s myriad ways.

Every detail matched!

At a small local ferry dock in Ningzhang City, the riverside was shrouded in morning mist.

The reeds by the water swayed in the breeze as an early-rising boatman, clad in a straw raincoat, rowed his boat into the vast mist, its silhouette flickering in and out of sight.

The rising sun hung on the horizon, casting shimmering ripples across the river’s surface. Beneath the calm waters, deep in the riverbed, a large fish with a human-like face swam slowly by.

From the riverbed, it entered an underground waterway. At a certain point, the fish stopped, its seemingly bulky tail moving with surprising agility as it swept the area.

A flash of spiritual light appeared, and a water gate materialized at the riverbed.

The fish swam in, and the water gate vanished.

Ahead lay a black abyss, above which was a vast open space littered with abandoned ships in the corners. These were unmistakably the vessels that had met with misfortune on the river in recent months, carrying precious cargo.

Nearby were stone steps illuminated by torches.

At that moment, over a dozen black-clad guards ran down the steps.

The fish aimed its mouth at the open space, its jaws opening and closing as its tail slapped the dark abyss, sending water splashing noisily.

Water sprayed everywhere, and with a loud thud, dust filled the underground chamber as the fish spat out the Xie family’s merchant ship.

The black-clad guards respectfully knelt and bowed to the fish. After paying their respects, the leader stood up and poured the remains of a demonic beast from a Mustard Seed Pouch into the abyss.

The fish’s body vanished into the depths of the abyss, the water’s surface churning as it fed.

The black-clad guards approached the Xie family’s merchant ship.

The ship lay tilted on the open space, eerily silent. Normally, Fei Xu should have come out to greet them by now.

The leader raised a hand to halt the group and called out, "Fei Xu?"

No one answered from the ship, only a deathly stillness.